What To Know About Arizona's Most Painful Insects

Growing up, I watched lots of Coyote Peterson, a guy who intentionally stings himself with insects and rates their pain levels. Little did I know some of the bugs he considered the most painful live right here in Arizona. Here are three Arizona insects with potent venom you should watch out for!

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Velvet Ants

Velvet Ants aren't ants at all; they are parasitoid wasps. Females are fluffy and wingless, and their sting is so painful they’re nicknamed “cow killers.” Their venom can’t actually kill a cow, but it sure feels like it could.

Because females can’t fly, they rely on their painful sting for defense. Their venom isn't toxic enough to kill anything technically. Their venom is actually less toxic than that of a honey bee or fire ant, but it feels much worse due to the peptides it contains.

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Harvester Ants

Harvester ants are common in Arizona and far more painful than other local ants, including fire ants. Their venom evolved to deter rodents like squirrels, gophers, and moles from raiding their nests and eating their food.

A harvester ant sting can cause about 8 hours of pain, along with swelling, sweating, and goosebumps. They rank around a 3/4 on the Schmidt Pain Index. Maricopa harvester ants, found specifically in Arizona and northern Mexico, have the most toxic insect venom in the entire area. It takes fewer than 6 bites to kill a large gopher, about 12 stings per 4.4 pounds of body weight.

a group of brown ants standing on top of a rock — Photo by Chetra Khieu on Unsplash

Tarantula Hawk Wasps

Tarantula Hawk Wasps are large, bright-orange‑winged insects famed for one of the most painful stings in the world. Their potent venom paralyzes tarantulas, and then they lay eggs inside the still-living arachnid, and the larvae eventually consume it from the inside out.

I remember a kid in elementary school taking off his shoe to step on one of these guys. He got stung on the foot and was limping for days, which he honestly deserved. Tarantula hawk wasps are generally docile if left alone, but their sting is a 4/4 Schmidt pain scale and can last 30+ hours or more, making it one of the most painful insect stings you may ever experience.

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As my dad once told me, everything in Arizona can fight you, bite you, poke you, or sting you, and it just so happens some of the most painful insects in the world live here. Next time you are out and about, watch where you step, or you might regret it for days to come.

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